CASA EX05/07 - Exemption – Eastern Australia Airlines operations into Lord Howe Island

Overview

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, enacted in 1988, provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for ensuring the safety of civil aviation in Australia. The problem or gap this legislation aimed to address was the need for a robust system to oversee and manage civil aviation operations to protect public safety and interests. This Act was enacted by the Australian Parliament and serves to establish a cohesive set of regulations for all aspects of civil aviation, with a primary focus on safety. The Civil Aviation (Exemption) Regulations 2005, which were introduced to exempt Eastern Australia Airlines operations into Lord Howe Island, specifically address the need to adapt regulatory requirements to unique circumstances at particular aerodromes while maintaining the overarching safety objectives of the Civil Aviation Act 1988. This exemption allows for modifications to take-off weight calculations to account for the specific conditions at Lord Howe Island, enhancing safety by utilising the runway end safety area for take-offs where it is constructed to the same standard as the runway itself.

Scope and Application

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 provide a framework for ensuring the safety of air navigation in Australia, and include provisions for exemptions and modifications to certain regulations under specific circumstances. One such exemption, CASA EX05/2007, applies to Eastern Australia Airlines and allows them to operate into Lord Howe Island with modifications to the take-off weight limitations. This exemption is made under the authority granted to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) by the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, and is limited to the operation of the DASH 8 aircraft. The exemption allows for the use of the runway end safety area (RESA) at the Lord Howe Island aerodrome when calculating the length of runway available for take-offs, which is a safety enhancement as the RESA at Lord Howe Island is constructed to an equivalent standard to the runway. The exemption is subject to conditions necessary in the interests of safety, and is in effect until the end of February 2008. It is a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, and was specifically requested by Eastern Australia Airlines Pty Ltd.

Key Provisions

The main sections of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) relevant to this exemption are sections 308 and 235. Section 308 allows the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to exempt certain aircraft or persons from specified provisions of CAR 1988, provided that it is in the interests of safety and any necessary conditions are imposed (subsection 308(3)). Section 235, meanwhile, empowers CASA to direct how maximum take-off and landing weights of aircraft should be determined, with specific provisions set out in Civil Aviation Order 20.7.1B (CAO 20.7.1B). The exemption under consideration modifies paragraphs 4.1, 5.1, and 11.1 of CAO 20.7.1B, but it now only applies to paragraph 4.1, allowing the runway end safety area (RESA) at Lord Howe Island to be taken into account when calculating the length of the runway available for take-off. The obligations and requirements imposed by this exemption on Eastern Australia Airlines are specific to ensuring the safety of operations at Lord Howe Island. The exemption allows the RESA to be used for take-offs, which is an enhancement over the standard practice that does not consider RESAs in take-off calculations. Additionally, the exemption contains detailed particulars about the relevant runway (10/28) and other safety requirements to be met during operations under this exemption. The airline must ensure compliance with these requirements to maintain the safety of its flights to Lord Howe Island. In terms of consequences for non-compliance, while the specific Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 do not detail explicit penalties within the exemption document, violations of aviation regulations generally carry significant consequences. Under the Civil Aviation Act 1988, breaches of aviation safety regulations can lead to both civil and criminal penalties. Civil penalties may include fines, while criminal penalties could result in imprisonment, reflecting the serious nature of safety breaches in aviation. The severity of penalties would depend on the nature and impact of the breach, but they can be substantial, given the high stakes involved in aviation safety. The exemption, as a legislative instrument, is subject to the provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. This means it must be tabled in Parliament and is open to disallowance under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA. Although consultation under section 17 of the LIA was not undertaken in this case, the exemption has been specifically requested by Eastern Australia Airlines Pty Ltd and meets its operational requirements for the DASH 8 aircraft. The exemption comes into effect on the day after it is registered and will cease to have effect at the end of February 2008. The exemption was made by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Operations, a delegate of CASA, under subregulation 7(1) of CAR 1988.